Of all the weird, wonderful substances found in nature, few are as perplexing and intriguing as the blood of the horseshoe crab. Though the animals themselves are not rare or valuable, their unique blue blood is one of the most precious liquids on Earth. But what makes horseshoe crab blood so valuable? And how much can it sell for?
The Unique Properties of Horseshoe Crab Blood
Horseshoe crabs are ancient arthropods that have evolved minimally over hundreds of millions of years. Their blood contains a few unusual properties not found in any other animal species:
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It is blue in color, due to copper rather than the iron in human blood.
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It lacks hemoglobin and is instead oxygenated by hemocyanin proteins
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Most importantly, it contains amebocytes which have highly sensitive endotoxins used to detect dangerous bacteria.
These amebocytes are vital to the horseshoe crab’s primitive immune system. When bacteria are present the amebocytes will coagulate and surround the threat in a gel-like seal.
It is this clotting reaction that makes horseshoe crab blood invaluable for biomedical use in detecting bacteria for humans. Their blood can signal the presence of endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria long before current synthetic tests.
The Discovery of LAL for Bacterial Detection
In the 1950s, researchers discovered that horseshoe crab blood would clot and gel around samples of dangerous bacteria in a petri dish. This sparked an idea to utilize their blood as a means of detecting bacteria in medications.
By the 1970s, scientist Fred Bang was able to isolate the clotting compounds from the amebocytes in horseshoe crab blood. This purified extract was called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate, or LAL.
When LAL is exposed to samples containing gram-negative bacterial endotoxins like E. coli, it will rapidly coagulate. The LAL test essentially serves as a biohazard detector, alerting lab technicians if a vaccine or other injectable medication has been contaminated.
This revolutionized quality control and contamination screening in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to LAL, the only method was injecting samples into rabbits and waiting to see if they developed fever symptoms. The LAL test offered immediate results.
Why an Artificial Alternative Hasn’t Replaced Horseshoe Crab Blood
Given the small horseshoe crab population and sustainability concerns around bleeding them, why not develop a synthetic alternative to their LAL extract?
In truth, experts have been trying to pioneer alternative bacterial endotoxin tests for decades without much viable success. The reasons LAL remains irreplaceable include:
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The LAL clotting cascade involves multiple complex enzymatic reactions that have proven extremely difficult to replicate artificially.
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Existing synthetic versions called Recombinant Factor C tests are not sensitive enough compared to LAL.
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Regulators and drug companies are hesitant to validate new synthetic tests due to uncertainty around accuracy and reliability.
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The LAL test is fast, inexpensive, and proven over 50 years of use making the incentive to change low.
For these reasons, biomedical companies and researchers continue relying on the unique properties found in horseshoe crab blood to detect bacterial contamination and save human lives.
How Horseshoe Crabs Are Caught and Bled
Horseshoe crabs are caught by fishermen either as bait for conch and eel harvesting, or specifically for the biomedical industry to be bled for LAL manufacturing.
The crabs are transported to lab facilities where around 30% of their blood is drained from the heart region. The bleeding process typically takes about 10 minutes.
Up to 30% of crabs die from the procedure itself or associated handling stresses. Those that survive are returned back to the ocean. However, studies show returned crabs have lower activity levels and survival rates afterwards.
Annually, over 600,000 horseshoe crabs are captured and bled in the United States. The number has declined slightly in recent years due to new state regulations and conservation efforts. But biomedical demand keeps the practice ongoing.
The Price of Horseshoe Crab Blood
With horseshoe crab blood being such a unique commodity, harvested in relatively small batches, supply and demand economics make it extraordinarily valuable.
Precise pricing figures are elusive as companies keep costs confidential. However, a few reported statistics indicate the immense value:
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One quart of horseshoe crab blood can sell for $15,000 to $60,000, depending on demand.
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The global market for LAL endotoxin testing, which relies on horseshoe crab blood, is estimated at $50 million annually and growing.
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Each adult female horseshoe crab contains up to $600 worth of LAL blood value.
Given these staggering numbers, horseshoe crab blood ranks among the most expensive liquids in the world based on volume.
Its value is right up there with human blood which can sell for $1,500 to $4,500 per liter! What’s truly mind boggling is realizing these ancient ocean creatures have blood that by ounce is literally worth more than its weight in gold.
Conservation Efforts Seek Sustainable Use
While the biomedical industry keeps horseshoe crab harvests steady, the practice is not without controversy. There are valid concerns around animal welfare and the long term health of crab populations being regularly bled.
However, rather than simply outlawing the practice, many advocate for sustainable use that balances both human interests and conservation:
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Using best practices for crab handling, transport and bleeding to minimize stress and mortality. Tagging programs help track activity of bled crabs returned to the ocean.
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Further restrictions and monitoring of harvest seasons and bleed rates in certain states to allow regeneration.
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Continued research into refining LAL extraction techniques to optimize concentrations and reduce volume needed.
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Funding development of viable synthetic alternatives to eventually replace dependence on live crabs.
With ongoing innovation and responsible stewardship, horseshoe crab populations could remain stable while still producing this unbelievable treasure in their blood that benefits mankind.
The reality is the unique biomedical properties in horseshoe crab blood are too important to easily replace. So just like these “living fossils” have graced the oceans for millions of years, with care they can continue providing their precious blood for medical breakthroughs well into the future.
(Or why a living fossil may save your life)
The Ecological Research says that g. , intravenous drugs, vaccines, and medical devices) are free of bacterial contamination. No other test works as easily or reliably for this purpose. â.
Horseshoe crabs aren’t bugs. They arent really crabs, either.
Limulus polyphemus are real animals that look like they came from prehistoric times. They are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to real crabs. The harmless sea creatures are living fossils that have been moving around quietly and almost the same way for 250 million years.
So who cares? As a primate who can think, you should. The primitive immune system of the horseshoe crab makes them medically quite useful to humans. Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), a substance made from horseshoe crabs, must be used to test every drug that the FDA approves.
There is a bright blue substance called LAL extract that is made from horseshoe crab blood. It is used to check medicines and vaccines for bacteria.
On the website for the Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant Programs and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, horseshoe crab blood is said to be worth about $15,000 a quart. ocean. udel. edu). Scientists have also found chemicals in the crabs that might work as antibiotics, antiviral drugs, or cancer drugs. Try to put a price on that untapped potential.
Whenever you get a vaccine, the crab’s life is linked to yours as a benefit from medical testing. That’s very good, because bad bacteria can be lethal. Gram-negative bacteria can be nasty stuff that cause life-threatening diseases like meningitis, typhoid, cholera, and toxic shock syndrome.
When Escherichia coli is in its natural habitat, it is harmless. But when it is taken out of the gut and bowel, e coli can cause serious illness.
William Sargent, a marine scientist, wrote a book called Crab Wars: A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Bioterrorism, and Human Health that is easy to read. One horseshoe crab can be bled, returned to the ocean, and after time, can give blood again. Or so it’s supposed to go.
Tapping the horseshoe crab market has spawned a multi-million dollar biomedical business.
Researchers are exploring the potential to culture cells that produce LAL. This development could potentially eliminate the need to catch the horseshoe crabs by the biomedical industry.
Members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee keep an eye on the health of populations. The ASMFC was created in 1942 because “fish do not adhere to political boundaries.” ”.
The ASMFC is made up of 15 states on the Atlantic coast: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut; New York; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; and New York;
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) says that people who don’t have a license can’t catch horseshoe crabs. “Only holders of the Connecticut Commercial Fishing License and Commercial Finfish License are permitted to take horseshoe crabs. ”.
Congress gave Virginia Tech’s Horseshoe Crab Research Center (HCRC) in Blacksburg, Virginia, $630,000 in 2003 to fund research on horseshoe crabs. Virginia Techs HCRC is the largest horseshoe crab research institution in the country.
Toxin-detecting genes in horseshoe crab blood are being cloned by India and China so that LAL derivatives can be made without killing horseshoe crabs. United States biomedical companies include Associates of Cape Cod, www. acciusa. com; Cambrex, www. cambrex. com/default. asp; and Charles River Endosafe, www. criver. com.
Why Horseshoe Crab Blood Is So Expensive | So Expensive
Why is horseshoe crab blood so expensive?
Narrator: This blueish liquid is one of the most expensive resources in the world. No, it’s not the blue milk from “Star Wars.” It’s actually blood from a horseshoe crab, and the stuff this blood makes costs $60,000 a gallon. So why is it so expensive and who’s buying horseshoe crab blood? The blue color comes from copper in the blood.
Why is horseshoe crab blood blue?
Horseshoe crab blood is **blue** due to the presence of a copper-based respiratory pigment called **hemocyanin**.When this pigment interacts with oxygen, it results in the unique blue color.But that’s
How much does a horseshoe crab cost?
The horseshoe crab’s blue blood is one of the most important, unknown, and widely used materials in the ocean. Crabs are eaten in certain parts of Asia, but most people harvest them for their precious blue blood. According to Fine Dining Lovers, the price can bring up to $60,000 per gallon in some places.
Why is a horseshoe crab worth a gallon?
Ironically, it was LAL that eventually replaced the use of rabbits for testing in the medical industry, and it would be a shame to see the crabs wiped out when a lab-grown alternative is now available. The blue blood of the Horseshoe Crab is one of the most valuable liquids on earth: valued at $60,000 for a gallon. Find out why.